Another one [Part 20]

'*Sigh* Why did-

No. This is no time for complaining. I'm not a coward. If I've been chosen to be reincarnated here I'll make the most of it.

I'll make sure I survive. It's the least I could do for her.'

Knowing she wouldn't sleep tonight, she decided to do something to let out all her frustration. And that was to punch a rock until her knuckles started to bleed. The rock had cracks on where she was punching it. She had seen people do this quite a lot on TV so she finally decided to try it out herself.

'I guess my taijutsu training paid off. That felt strangely good. I didn't think that just letting off steam like that would help me cool down my inner turmoil.

I wanna puke... No, I have to hold it in. I can't fall apart right now. Everything will be ruined if I fall apart right now. I need to survive. I already made a mistake by choosing to go down the ninja road.

I'll make sure I won't regret the decision again.'

Groaning, she decided that she would take up Matatabi's advice on getting rid of useless thoughts.

Gambling.

'I'll be joining you all today. Hope you don't mind. If you do... Well, it sucks to be you because this is my mind.'

Matatabi and Tobirama had irk marks on their forehead as they turned to her. They were both in the middle of a shogi match and clearly didn't like having interrupt their game.

She gave them a weary smile and decided to just put on a blank face instead of forcing herself to smile.

The least she could do for them was to not fake her entire emotions.

'Hah... Sorry. Anyways, I'll just check Tobirama-san's memories to see how people gamble. So~'

[Don't worry, you'll be losing badly.]-Matatabi

Matatabi smirked and Tobirama also had a challenging smile on her face. The three continued their games all night. Veronica was of course tired the next morning but still felt a bit refreshed.

'Huh. I feel a bit better after gambling all night. No wonder Tsunade and Hashirama had a gambling addiction. This shit is amazing-

Fuck. I'm addicted too, aren't I? Oh well, Hashirama would be proud. Also, when did I start cursing so much...?'

Getting up, she headed straight for the shower. The scent of blood had almost washed off and one more rinse would do the trick.

Today was a day off from the academy. It was also the second day ever since she had saved Shisui.

Deciding to go out today to play with her friends and see how Itachi was doing, she quickly changed into her regular top and shorts.

'I should probably play with the kids first since I don't know how long I would be with Itachi.'

Going over to Naruto's house, she went in without knocking. Going in the kitchen, she found the ramen bowls all over the floor. She saw some peels of vegetables and fruits and smiled at how Naruto had started to eat some healthy meals. She started to make his breakfast and clean up while waiting for him to wake up.

He soon woke and his face immediately broke into a grin smelling the food. He knew that it was Veronica.

Seeing him wake up, she sighed and put on her mask as she got ready for her daily conversations.

"Yup! See Ya tomorrow Vero-chan!"-Naruto

She went over to where she knew she would find Sakura. The small pink haired girl was a lot more insecure than she let on. About her personality, her hair, her forehead and... not being able to fit in. She was like the other girls but she was also really smart. She was basically a nerd one could say. But it seems that being bullied everyday really toned down her confidence.

'Sakura is... Not smart like a Nara. She's more book smart. But if she could-

There's no point in thinking about that. I won't get involved too much with the main characters when canon begins. I'll have to focus on my own plans at that point.'

[Sakura probably just wanted to fit in and eventually settled on the weak kunoichi from 'canon'.]-Matatabi

'Yea, it's kind of sad you know.'

Matatabi waited for Veronica to continue. They thought that it must have something to do with her past. They hadn't looked through all her memories, just the Naruto ones and some others. They wanted to respect Veronica's privacy after all.

'It's sad because I can relate so much to it. It's sad because she's changing herself because of it. It's sad because... to others, we as girls will be nothing more than 'weak people who need protection'. It's sad because people will always say in danger to 'escort the children, elderly and women to safety' when they can't see that, we females are the same as them.'

[… Well then, I guess you'll have to be the one to make them realize this.]-Matatabi

'Yea.'

She pretended not to be curious about Matatabi's thoughts. But perhaps if she knew them, she might have seen the world's colors a little better.

*She's hurt, mentally and emotionally. But everyday she walks with a smile. 'Cause that's just who she is: The girl who never stopped smiling.*